1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote vehicle troubleshooting server and the like, particularly to a remote vehicle troubleshooting server and the like for conducting vehicle troubleshooting, periodic inspection, part order placement etc. from a location remote from the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various vehicle troubleshooting technologies have been developed. Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 10-10013, for example, discloses a troubleshooting system that uses a select monitor (diagnostic unit) installed at a car dealer""s auto service shop, for instance, to troubleshoot vehicles. The system disclosed in this publication includes an electronic control unit installed in the vehicle for storing vehicle data, such as data acquired from onboard sensors, switches and actuators, and a select monitor (diagnostic unit) installed at the car dealer""s auto service shop. The select monitor accesses the onboard electronic control unit to read various types of vehicle data, called internal data, uses its own metering functions to acquire vehicle data, and simultaneously displays the metered data and read-out internal data for easy comparison of corresponding data items. The troubleshooting system of this publication thus enhances troubleshooting efficiency by making it easy to judge the appropriateness of the data read from the onboard electronic control system.
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 11-51817 discloses a failure detection system that stores vehicle self-diagnosis information in an ignition key and makes a detailed analysis of failure location and failure condition based on diagnostic information read from the ignition key. More specifically, when the ignition key is removed from the cylinder lock, a vehicle transmitter outputs self-diagnosis information and a receiver of the ignition key receives the self-diagnosis information and stores it in an ignition key memory. The self-diagnosis information stored in the ignition key is read using a key information reader, the read-out diagnostic information is input to a personal computer, and the personal computer detects particulars regarding the failure location, failure condition and the like. The disclosed system is advantageous in that the ignition key is the only component that need by removed from the vehicle and carried by the vehicle owner and that upon receiving the key the dealer can read the self-diagnosis information, determine the site of the failure, the failure condition etc. and then immediately tell the owner the expected cost of labor and parts for repairing the vehicle and how long the repair will take.
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 11-223578 (""578) discloses a vehicle diagnostic system in which troubleshooting information regarding vehicle malfunction obtained by self-diagnosis is wirelessly transmitted from the vehicle to a base station and when the vehicle malfunction corresponding to the troubleshooting information is thereafter eliminated (repaired), malfunction-eliminated information (a repair-completed code) is wirelessly transmitted from the vehicle to the base station. With the system set out in this publication, when the base station has once received the vehicle troubleshooting information and thereafter received the associated repair-completed code, the base station can omit notices that would otherwise be sent to the vehicle regarding inspection, repair and maintenance, thereby eliminating meaningless procedural exchanges between the vehicle and base station.
However, all of these conventional systems require the vehicle itself to be equipped with a troubleshooting facility and the troubleshooting information produced by the troubleshooting facility to be forwarded to an external entity such as a dealer via some means such as a troubleshooting system (select monitor), ignition key or wireless transmitter.
Against this backdrop, the inventors discovered a new issue that has emerged owing to the wide-spread proliferation of the Internet, namely, that the need for remote troubleshooting via networks such as the Internet can be expected to expand in the future. Among the conventional technologies discussed in the foregoing, that taught by ""578 wirelessly transmits vehicle troubleshooting information to a base station but the base station merely uses the troubleshooting information in connection with inspection/repair/maintenance notices regarding the vehicle concerned sent to the vehicle side (owner side). This can hardly be called remote troubleshooting.
Thus nothing specific has yet been proposed regarding remote vehicle troubleshooting.
Thus, the present invention was accomplished to offer a concrete solution to a new problem, that of how to respond to the need for vehicle remote vehicle troubleshooting, and has as one object to provide a server for remote vehicle troubleshooting, a remote vehicle troubleshooting method, a remote troubleshooting program, an onboard remote troubleshooting apparatus and the like that enable vehicle troubleshooting and inspection to be performed simply without need for the vehicle owner to visit a dealer and/or auto service shop.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a server for remote vehicle troubleshooting, a remote vehicle troubleshooting method, a remote troubleshooting program, an onboard remote troubleshooting apparatus and the like that enable reliable vehicle troubleshooting and inspection to be performed using an up-to-date model-specific troubleshooting database.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a server for remote vehicle troubleshooting, a remote vehicle troubleshooting method, a remote troubleshooting program, an onboard remote troubleshooting apparatus and the like that enable the vehicle owner to stay mindful of times for periodic inspection and replacement of expendable parts.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a server for remote vehicle troubleshooting, a remote vehicle troubleshooting method, a remote troubleshooting program, an onboard remote troubleshooting apparatus and the like that easily pinpoint vehicle malfunctions.
The present invention achieves the above objects by, in a first aspect, providing a server for remote vehicle troubleshooting, in second aspect, providing a remote vehicle troubleshooting method that is implemented by the server for remote vehicle troubleshooting, in third aspect, providing a remote vehicle troubleshooting program that is executed by the server for remote vehicle troubleshooting, in a fourth aspect, providing an onboard remote troubleshooting apparatus, in a fifth aspect, providing an remote vehicle troubleshooting method that is implemented by the vehicle, and, in a sixth aspect, providing a remote vehicle troubleshooting program that is executed by the onboard apparatus of the vehicle.
The server for remote vehicle troubleshooting according to the first aspect of the invention, which performs vehicle troubleshooting from a remote location, comprises, in one configuration thereof, a troubleshooting program transmitter for transmitting to a vehicle a troubleshooting program for performing vehicle troubleshooting at the vehicle side upon receiving a request from an owner of the vehicle or at a predetermined time, a vehicle inspection result receiver for receiving from the vehicle inspection results regarding the vehicle obtained by executing the troubleshooting program, a trouble determining device for determining trouble particulars by analyzing the inspection results, and a trouble particular transmitter for transmitting the trouble particulars to the vehicle.
The server for remote vehicle troubleshooting according to the first aspect of the invention, which performs vehicle troubleshooting from a remote location, comprises, in another configuration thereof, a trouble site pinpointing program transmitter for transmitting to a vehicle a trouble site pinpointing program for performing vehicle troubleshooting at the vehicle side when an owner of the vehicle feels that something may be wrong, the trouble site pinpointing program being made so that the owner selects a plurality of troubleshooting items that are hierarchically formatted, a vehicle inspection result receiver for receiving from the vehicle inspection results regarding the vehicle obtained by executing the trouble site pinpointing program, a trouble particular determining device for determining trouble particulars by analyzing the inspection results, and a trouble particular transmitter for transmitting the trouble particulars to the vehicle.
The remote vehicle troubleshooting method according to the second aspect of the invention, which performs vehicle troubleshooting from a remote location, comprises, in one configuration thereof, the steps of transmitting to a vehicle a troubleshooting program for performing vehicle troubleshooting at the vehicle side upon receiving a request from an owner of the vehicle or at a predetermined time, receiving from the vehicle inspection results regarding the vehicle obtained by executing the troubleshooting program, determining trouble particulars by analyzing the inspection results, and transmitting the trouble particulars to the vehicle.
The remote vehicle troubleshooting method according to the second aspect of the invention, which performs vehicle troubleshooting from a remote location, comprises, in another configuration thereof, the steps of transmitting to a vehicle a trouble site pinpointing program for performing vehicle troubleshooting at the vehicle side when an owner of the vehicle feels that something may be wrong, the trouble site pinpointing program being made so that the owner selects a plurality of troubleshooting items that are hierarchically formatted, receiving from the vehicle inspection results regarding the vehicle obtained by executing the trouble site pinpointing program, determining trouble particulars by analyzing the inspection results, and transmitting the trouble particulars to the vehicle.
The remote vehicle troubleshooting program according to the third aspect of the invention, which controls a computer of a server so as to perform vehicle troubleshooting from a remote location, comprises, in one configuration thereof, instructions for transmitting to a vehicle a troubleshooting program for performing vehicle troubleshooting at the vehicle side upon receiving a request from an owner of the vehicle or at a predetermined time, instructions for receiving from the vehicle inspection results regarding the vehicle obtained by executing the troubleshooting program, instructions for determining trouble particulars by analyzing the inspection results, and instructions for transmitting the trouble particulars to the vehicle.
The remote vehicle troubleshooting program according to the third aspect of the invention, which controls a computer of a server so as to perform vehicle troubleshooting from a remote location, comprises, in another configuration thereof, instructions for transmitting to a vehicle a trouble site pinpointing program for performing vehicle troubleshooting at the vehicle side when an owner of the vehicle feels that something may be wrong, the trouble site pinpointing program being made so that the owner selects a plurality of troubleshooting items that are hierarchically formatted, instructions for receiving from the vehicle inspection results regarding the vehicle obtained by executing the trouble site pinpointing program, instructions for determining trouble particulars by analyzing the inspection results, and instructions for transmitting the trouble particulars to the vehicle.
The onboard remote troubleshooting apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention, which performs vehicle troubleshooting from a remote location, comprises, in one aspect thereof, a troubleshooting program receiver for receiving from an external server a troubleshooting program for performing vehicle troubleshooting at the vehicle side upon receiving a request from an owner of the vehicle or at a predetermined time, an inspection device for executing the troubleshooting program to obtain inspection results regarding the vehicle, an inspection result transmitter for transmitting the inspection results to the external server so that the external server can determine trouble particulars by analyzing the inspection results, and a trouble particular receiver for receiving the trouble particulars from the external server.
The onboard remote troubleshooting apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention, which performs vehicle troubleshooting from a remote location, comprises, in another aspect thereof, a trouble site pinpointing program receiver for receiving from an external server a trouble site pinpointing program for performing vehicle troubleshooting at the vehicle side when an owner of the vehicle feels that something may be wrong, the trouble site pinpointing program being made so that the owner selects a plurality of troubleshooting items that are hierarchically formatted, an inspection device for executing the trouble site pinpointing program to obtain inspection results regarding the vehicle, an inspection result transmitter for transmitting the inspection results to the external server so that the external server can determine trouble particulars by analyzing the inspection results, and a trouble particular receiver for receiving the trouble particulars from the external server.
The remote vehicle troubleshooting method according to the fifth aspect of the invention performs vehicle troubleshooting from a remote location, comprises, in one configuration thereof, the steps of receiving from an external server a troubleshooting program for performing vehicle troubleshooting at the vehicle side upon receiving a request from an owner of the vehicle or at a predetermined time, executing the troubleshooting program to obtain inspection results regarding the vehicle, transmitting the inspection results to the external server so that the external server can determine trouble particulars by analyzing the inspection results, and receiving the trouble particulars from the external server.
The remote vehicle troubleshooting method according to the fifth aspect of the invention performs vehicle troubleshooting from a remote location, comprises, in another configuration thereof, the steps of receiving from an external server a trouble site pinpointing program for performing vehicle troubleshooting at the vehicle side when an owner of the vehicle feels that something may be wrong, the trouble site pinpointing program being made so that the owner selects a plurality of troubleshooting items that are hierarchically formatted, executing the trouble site pinpointing program to obtain inspection results regarding the vehicle, transmitting the inspection results to the external server so that the external server can determine trouble particulars by analyzing the inspection results, and receiving the trouble particulars from the external server.
The remote vehicle troubleshooting program according to the sixth aspect of the invention, which controls an onboard computer of a vehicle so as to perform vehicle troubleshooting from a remote location, comprises, in one configuration thereof, instructions for receiving from an external server a troubleshooting program for performing vehicle troubleshooting at the vehicle side upon receiving a request from an owner of the vehicle or at a predetermined time, instructions for executing the troubleshooting program to obtain inspection results regarding the vehicle, instructions for transmitting the inspection results to the external server so that the external server can determine trouble particulars by analyzing the inspection results, and instructions for receiving the trouble particulars from the external server.
The remote vehicle troubleshooting program according to the sixth aspect of the invention, which controls an onboard computer of a vehicle so as to perform vehicle troubleshooting from a remote location, comprises, in another configuration thereof, instructions for receiving from an external server a trouble site pinpointing program for performing vehicle troubleshooting at the vehicle side when an owner of the vehicle feels that something may be wrong, the trouble site pinpointing program being made so that the owner selects a plurality of troubleshooting items that are hierarchically formatted, instructions for executing the trouble site pinpointing program to obtain inspection results regarding the vehicle, instructions for transmitting the inspection results to the external server so that the external server can determine trouble particulars by analyzing the inspection results, and instructions for receiving the trouble particulars from the external server.
The above and other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following description made with reference to the accompanying drawings showing preferred embodiments of the present invention.